Read an adrenaline-fueled futuristic adventure novel
The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones
What to Read This Week
The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones
What It’s About
The future is here for the United States, and what that means is that everyone is sequestered in large cities, all inside the salt lines. The salt lines are what keep them safe from the ravenous outbreak of deadly ticks that took over the wilderness.
But capitalism is alive and well, and companies are selling trips to adrenaline junkies to travel outside the salt lines, risking their lives to see what the remainder of the world looks like. When the next tour group prepares for their trip away from safety, what was once a standard and scripted tour quickly goes wrong. They’re taken captive—by people who are living full-time among the deadly ticks, outside the law and under the government’s radar.
As the tourists scramble to figure out what’s going on and who’s in charge, questions of who is truly living in freedom and who is living in fear come into play as each group tries to protect its own.
“I’ve risked my life and defaced my body because I believe those sights have value, and that connecting with nature—however dangerous it can be—is essential to the experience of being human.”
Who Will Like It
This is a fast-paced thriller-style dystopia with a core mystery that will have you flipping pages faster and faster.
If you’ve been watching Station Eleven (based on Emily St. John Mandel’s book) but want something less pandemic but still apocalypse, this will be your perfect next read. It’s got the high-stakes end-of-the-world feel without being so close to current events that it just gives you anxiety.
Next Up
I curated a list of spring mysteries that will have you wondering what’s being unburied from all that melting snow, and I’m on a mystery kick! My audiobook hold of A History of Wild Places just came in, and it sounds like the perfect dark and foggy mystery for me right now. I also snagged a copy of The Verifiers, which I cannot wait to read (especially after Elizabeth’s great review of it).
More Books
Can’t get enough, or looking for a different recommendation? Browse the archives, or check out some popular past recommendations:
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A History of Wild places is really good on audio. very foggy and spooky.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on The Verifiers.